Bleisure: Who Covers the Side Trip?

An association typically covers the travel expenses of a staffer who’s working its conference. But if he or she decides to stay a few extra days or plans another trip before heading home, who covers the fare?

“My policy has always been to instruct staff to use reasonable judgment on airfare,” says Chris Williams, CAE, executive director of the National Child Support Enforcement Association. “The association will cover the cost of airfare to or from the city of association business only.”

That said, Williams makes a point of not being a hard-liner about it. “If [the staffer] can find total trip airfare for the business and nonbusiness segments that falls reasonably close to [the business-only] price, then I’ll allow it,” he says.

That day-after decompression mojito is on you, though. “The association will only reimburse for employee travel expenses during the conference,” he says.

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